Heal
by ljee
Summary: AU fic. Paige is a law student who reunites with her ex-girlfriend Emily.
1. Chapter 1

Heal

24-year old Paige McCullers was in her apartment studying for her law classes. She was in her second year of law school. There was a knock at the door and she opened it to see a tall man in an Army uniform standing there.

"Hi, sir can I help you?" Paige said.

"Are you Paige McCullers?" The man said.

"I am"

"Good evening. My name is Lieutenant Hayes and I'm here to inform you that Sgt. Emily Fields was injured in Iraq two days ago. She had you listed as her next of kin."

The brunette was shocked at the two revelations. She and Emily had broken up two years earlier and she was surprised that her ex would have her listed as the next of kin. Three years earlier, Emily's parents Pam and Wayne were killed in a car accident and in her grief Emily decided to join the military to honor her father. That decision caused a rift between her and Paige and they broke up.

The brunette was shaking and she asked, "How bad is Emily hurt?"

Lt. Hayes said, "She stepped on a land mine and lost her left arm and leg."

Paige's stomach turned as she heard that revelation.

"Where is she?" Paige asked.

"She is at a hospital in Germany right now. In a week she will be transferred to a veterans hospital in here in Philadelphia." The man said.

* * *

A week went by and during that time Paige took her finals for her second year of law school. She was glad to be done. After taking her last final, she got in her car and drove to the veterans hospital. She was nervous about seeing her ex-girlfriend. She found a parking spot and headed into the lobby.

There was a woman at the front desk.

Paige asked, "Hi can you tell me what room Emily Fields is in?"

The woman tapped some keys on the keyboard and said, "She is on the third floor in room 49.

Paige then went up in the elevators and then found room 49. The door was closed. She paused for a moment and then opened the door. She saw a hospital bed, but it was empty and then she saw a figure sitting in a wheelchair with her back to Paige. Paige then recognized the back of Emily's head and her dark hair.

Emily said, "Who is there?"

Paige said, "It's me Em". She then walked over to Emily's left side and leaned down.

"You came." Emily said.

"You had me listed as your next of kin." Paige said.

"Yeah I did that because my friends and relatives are always busy with their own lives." Emily said.

Paige then saw that Emily's left arm was amputated just below the elbow and the left leg was amputated just below the knee. The amputated limbs were heavily bandaged. Emily was dressed in a hospital gown.

Emily then broke down crying and Paige hugged her and said, "It's ok I'm here now."

After awhile, Emily calmed down and stopped crying.

Emily then said, "Paige can you wheel me to the cafeteria, we can get some coffee."

"Sure". Paige said.

Before they left to the cafeteria, Emily instructed Paige to help her put on a robe on. Paige also covered Emily's lap with a blanket.

They entered the cafeteria, Paige saw other wounded soldiers in wheelchairs, some were walking with crutches and canes.

She found an empty table and pushed Emily to it. She went to the coffee machine area and prepared two cups of coffee and then took them to the table.

Emily took a sip of her coffee.

Paige said, "How have you been doing?"

"I guess I'm doing ok for someone who pretty much lost half of her body." Emily said.

"I'm glad you survived."

The injured woman responded, "Thank you Paige. I never stopped loving you."

"I didn't either. Emily I should apologize for all the things I said to you when you decided to join the Army. You were doing a noble thing to honor your father and serve our country." Paige said.

Emily responded, "It's ok you don't need to apologize. That was in the past."

Paige smiled and said, "Thank you."

Emily continued sipping from her coffee.

Paige then asked, "How long will you be here?"

"The doctors and therapists think three months. My stumps have to heal more before I can get prosthetics and then there will be rehab."

The injured woman then broke down crying again and she said, "Paige, I don't know what I'm going to do once I get out of here. I don't know what I'm going to do to make a living."

Paige then put her hand on Emily's remaining hand and said, "I'll help you any way I can. I will take you home with me and we will figure things out."

Later on, Paige wheeled Emily back to her room. Emily was tired and Paige lifted her out of the wheelchair and put her in bed.

Paige stayed with Emily until she fell asleep. She left the hospital and began to think of the future and how she was going to make a life for a woman who was damaged and broken by war.


	2. Chapter 2

Heal Chapter 2

It was early morning and Paige was in bed with her laptop. She was researching things about disabilities. She had promised Emily the day before that she would bring her home and help her. Paige bookmarked various sites and wrote some things down on a notepad. She decided to get ready for the day. She showered, dressed and did her hair.

She went to the store and bought several things for Emily like books, magazines, crossword books, makeup, and candy. She them made her way to the hospital. She went up the usual elevators and as she approached Emily's room she heard voices.

She opened the door and saw Ezra and Aria by Emily's bedside. She smiled at the sight. She was glad Emily's friends were supportive. She had not seen Ezra and Aria in a few years. She immediately noticed that Aria was pregnant.

"Hi everyone" Paige said.

Ezra and Aria greeted Paige and Paige congratulated them on Aria's pregnancy.

Paige put the shopping bag on Emily's nightstand and said, "I picked you up some things from the store."

Emily said, "You didn't have to do that."

"I promised I would take care of you." Paige said as she gave Emily a kiss on the forehead.

Emily said, "Thank you."

Aria then asked, "Are you two back together?"

Emily and Paige were both unsure of what to answer.

Emily then said, "I had Paige listed as my next of kin with the Army. I'm going to stay with her after I get out of the hospital."

Paige then nodded at Aria.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Hanna and Spencer entered the hospital room. Both had tears in their eyes as they saw Emily's amputated limbs.

Spencer leaned down and said, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Hanna said, "I'm so glad that you're alive."

Aria said, "We all are."

Spencer and Hanna then noticed that Paige was in the room.

Spencer said, "It's good to see you Paige."

Paige responded, "Good to see you too Spencer."

Ezra then spoke up, "I'm going to head out. I have some errands to run and Aria is going to get a ride home with Spencer."

Ezra then kissed Aria and left the room.

A few minutes later, Aria clutched her stomach and said, "The baby is kicking"

She took Emily's hand and put it on her baby bump.

"Do you feel it Emily?" Aria asked.

"No."

"Give it a couple of minutes." Aria said.

Moments later, Emily smiled and said "I feel it."

Aria said, "I'm glad you survived the land mine because I want my daughter to know all of my best friends. Ezra and I talked last night and we want the baby's middle name to be Emily."

Tears then streamed down Emily's face. Aria then held Emily.

Paige said, "I'm going to get let all of catch up and visit. I'm gonna get some coffee from across the street."

* * *

She left the room and trekked across the street to a small cafe. As she entered the cafe, her phone buzzed it was her father.

She answered the phone and said, "Hi Dad."

"Hi Paige." Nick said on the other end.

"How are you and Mom doing?" Paige said.

"We are doing well. We were calling to see if you will be heading to Rosewood soon." Nick said.

"I'm not sure Dad. Some stuff came up." Paige said.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Emily Fields was injured in Iraq and she had me listed as her next of kin. She got back to the States yesterday. She is here in Philly at the veterans' hospital" Paige said.

"Poor thing. What kind of injuries does she have?" Nick said.

"She stepped on a land mine and lost a leg and a arm." Paige said.

"Oh my." Nick said.

"It's a lot to take in. Any way I told Emily that I would take care of her and she is coming home with me in a few months."

Nick said in a concerned tone, "Are you sure Paige? It's difficult to take care of someone who is disabled and you are entering your final year of law school in a few months."

"I know. But I think things will be ok. I did some research and many people with amputations can learn to be independent again. Emily has a long road ahead of her, but she will be ok later on. She needs me." Paige said.

"Sweetie, it's good that you want to do this. But just be careful." Nick said.

"I will."

"How about next weekend, we go up and see you Paige and we can visit Emily in the hospital too." Nick said.

"That would be nice." Paige said.

A few minutes later, Paige hung up with her father. A waitress then took her order.

* * *

Meanwhile in Emily's hospital room, she and her three best friends were talking about different things. Spencer talked about getting her MBA and Hanna talked about her job in New York at a fashion design firm.

Hanna said, "Emily, I want you to know that you can also stay with me in New York after you get out. I'm just offering in case things with you and Paige don't work out."

Emily said, "Thank you for the offer Hanna. Well Paige and I aren't back together. But she feels responsible for me and wants to help me start my life over. I think I will be ok staying with her."

Awhile later, Paige came back to the room and saw that Emily was now sitting in wheelchair by the bed. Hanna was curling Emily's hair with a curling iron.

Hanna said, "We decided to pretty Emily up. Just because she's stuck in the hospital, doesn't mean she can't be pretty."

Paige smiled at Hanna's kind gesture.

Spencer then asked Paige, "How is law school going for you?"

"It's going well, I just took my finals for 2L. I'm ready for the final year." Paige said.

Spencer responded, "If you need any help with jobs after you graduate, give my parents a call."

"Thank you Spencer. I'll call if I need help."

Aria was rummaging through her purse and she pulled out a bottle of red nail polish.

"I found some nail polish and I can paint your nails." She said to Emily.

Emily then felt a bit of sadness as she looked down at her remaining hand. She no longer had two hands.

Aria sensed her friend's sadness. She gently took Emily's right hand and placed it on nightstand. Silently she began painting Emily's fingernails.

Twenty minutes later, Spencer spoke up and said, "It's a nice day out Em. About we go out for a walk."

Emily said that would be nice. Spencer then took the handles of the wheelchair.

Aria, Hanna, and Paige followed behind.

Spencer and Aria took Emily to the hospital garden. Hanna and Paige stopped and were talking.

Hanna said, "I hope you don't mind, but I offered for Emily to stay with me in New York after she gets out. I offered just in case things change."

Paige said, "It's ok. I know all of you care about Emily too. Right now, I'm taking things day by day. I'm doing research on ways to help Emily and I'm planning to talk to the doctors and therapists tomorrow. I'm glad that all of you are here for her. I will probably need some help."

Hanna then hugged Paige and said, "Thank you."

* * *

Later on, the group headed back to Emily's room. Hanna,Aria, and Spencer said bye to Emily and they promised they would be back to visit.

Paige help Emily back into bed.

Then a nurse came in and said, "It's time to change the bandages Emily"

Emily simply nodded. Her bandages were changed twice daily to avoid further infection.

Emily turned to Paige and said, "You don't have to stay."

Paige said, "I made a promise and besides I have to do my best to help you."

Emily said, "They are a bit ugly to see without the bandages."

The nurse started to remove the bandages from the arm stump. There was a little bit of blood and the stump was red and bruised. There were some stitches that were difficult to look at.

The nurse then looked at Paige and said, "The stump will look better in time. The stitches will be changed in a few days."

Paige still a bit shocked by what she saw just nodded at the nurse. She watched as the nurse put some ointment and fresh bandages on the arm stump. She then removed the bandages from the leg stump. The leg stump was also red with bruises and ugly stitches. Ointment was placed on the stump and fresh bandages were wrapped around it.

The nurse left the room.

Emily then faced Paige and said, "You were freaked out weren't you? I'm a freak now"

Paige nervously sturred, "No I wasn't."

Emily then cried, "It's ok Paige you don't have to lie to me."

Paige took Emily's remaining hand and said, "It was hard to see all of that. But that doesn't mean that I was freaked out. You are still beautiful Emily."

A few hours passed by, Emily and Paige ate dinner. Emily was given some sleep sedatives by the nurses and Paige stayed with her until she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Heal Chapter 3

* * *

It was the day before Paige's parents visit and Paige was running around between the hospital and getting things ready for her parents' visit. She was also getting ready for her upcoming summer internship at a law firm. Luckily, Aria and Spencer were stepping in to help with Emily.

Aria arrived in Emily's hospital room. Emily was asleep, but Aria could tell her friend was having a nightmare. Aria slowly waked up to the Emily's bedside. The injured woman was tossing and turning. Aria put her hands on Emily's shoulders and said, "Em wake up, you're having a nightmare".

A few moments later, Emily awoke and she wiped some sweat off her forehead.

"Are you ok?" Aria asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Emily said.

She really wasn't fine. She had a nightmare about the war, but she wanted her loved ones to see her as strong.

Aria said, "I brought you some things and Spencer will be bringing us some takeout for lunch."

Emily said, "Thank you".

Aria then asked, "How is Paige doing?"

"She is doing good. She is getting things ready for her parents' visit this weekend. I'm so nervous because they are going to come here too." Emily said.

"Why are you nervous?"

"I'm nervous because I don't want Paige's parents to see me as a needy freak who is taking up Paige's time."

"They won't see you like that. They know that Paige loves you."

"I know. I just feel like a burden now that I'm back."

"You aren't a burden. You just need some help for awhile." Aria said.

Emily smiled at her friend.

Aria then said, "My baby shower is in a couple of weeks and I talked to the doctors and they said you will be able to go."

Emily responded, "No I can't go I'm sorry Aria. I'm not ready to be in public."

Aria was disappointed, but she said, "It's ok you don't have to go if you don't want to."

Emily then said, "About we watch a movie?"

Aria nodded and the two then watched a movie on a portable DVD player.

* * *

It was close to 5 pm. Emily was reading a magazine when she saw Paige enter the room. She smiled at Paige.

"Hey sweetie, how are you doing" Paige said as she took a seat in the chair next to the bed.

"I'm doing ok. Aria and Spencer kept me company most of the day. Is everything ready for your parents' visit?"

"Yeah, everything is in place. We are going to come here tomorrow in the afternoon, are you sure you're ok with my parents visiting with me?" Emily asked.

Paige took Emily's hand and said, "Yes I'm ok. My parents still love you."

Emily smiled.

Paige said, "Dr. McMahon says you are starting physical therapy on Monday. It will be good for you to get out of his bed more."

The injured woman nodded and said, "Yeah I think I'm starting to go crazy being this immobile. I can't wait to get a hook or a prosthetic hand. I'm tired of having others cut my food or doing things for me that requires two hands."

"I know things will get better, but for now Em remember that we are here for you and we will help you get your life back together." Paige said.

Emily then asked, "Paige maybe in a month or so do you think you could take me to Rosewood. I want to visit my parents' grave. It's been awhile".

"Sure". Paige said.

Paige then leaned into Emily and kissed her on the lips. Emily kissed back and the two made out for several minutes before hearing footsteps coming near the room. It was a nurse who was giving Emily some nighttime medication.

Paige kissed Emily goodnight later on and went home.

* * *

Emily was sitting in a wheelchair. She was wearing a robe over her hospital gown and a blanket covered her lower body. Spencer came by earlier and did her hair. She then heard several footsteps coming near the troom. She watched as Paige and her parents Nick and Susan entered the room. She saw looks of pity on their faces. She hated seeing that stuff, but she smiled at the McCullers parents.

Nick was the first to speak and he said, "It's good to see you Emily. I'm sorry about what happened to you over there, but I'm proud of you."

Susan said, "Hello Emily. If you need a place to stay after you get out of here, you are welcome at our home in Rosewood."

Paige then interjected and said, "That's nice of you Mom, but Emily is coming home with me."

The older woman said, "Are you sweetie?"

Paige smiled at Emily and said, "We are sure."

The visit went well and Emily felt relieved that Nick and Susan were supportive of her and Paige.

* * *

Monday morning came. Two therapists came into Emily's room. One was a tall black man named Devon and the other was a 40 something woman named Tara.

Tara said, "I'm an occupational therapist and I will be working alongside Devon who is a physical therapist. We will be seeing how your stumps heal and we will teach you how to adapt to your body now that it is different. I will be teaching you other ways to do things with one hand."

Devon said, "Ok Emily why don't we start with some rolling exercises here on the bed."

Slowly, Devon and Tara helped Emily roll on her side use the strength of her one arm and leg. They did range of motion with her stumps. Devon traced the stumps on pads of paper.

Emily felt exhausted after the therapy sessions and she rested before she knew Paige would be coming by. She remembered her past with Paige. She was proud of Paige's ambition, but she also worried about Paige's future now that she was back in her life.

Paige entered the room later on Emily smiled. The two kissed passionately. Paige had noticed that Emily was dressed in sweats and the pant leg of her missing leg was pinned up with safety pins.

"How was your first day of therapy?" Paige asked.

"It was ok. They just did some basic exercises with me here on the bed like rolling myself over." Emily said.

"That's a good start."

"Yeah. Can you hold me Paige?" Emily asked.

Paige nodded and got in bed with Emily and held her.

Emily said, "Paige I need to tell you something."

"What sweetie?"

"I've been having nightmares about the war." Emily said.

Paige was unsure of what to say.

After a few minutes, she said, "Have you talked to someone here about getting help with the nightmares?"

"No I don't want to. It's bad enough I have to deal with losing two limbs. The nightmares will stop later on."

Paige said, "You should talk to someone about them."

Emily angrily responded, "No I'll be ok."

Paige responded, "Ok."

Deep down Paige was worried more for Emily.


	4. Chapter 4

Heal Chapter 4

Paige decided to wait out on her worries about Emily for awhile. She had started her internship at the law firm and was happy to learn that the internship was a bit flexible and she would be able to do some work at the hospital while Emily was doing her rehab and she also planned to do work some nights. Emily's stumps were healing better and she was getting physically stronger.

It was a midday at the hospital. The therapists were making molds of Emily's stumps for her first set of temporary prosthetics. She was excited that she would soon to be standing on two feet even though one would be a prosthetic. After the molds were taken off, she got back into bed and watched TV and waited for Paige to come by and spend the afternoon with her while she was doing some occupational therapy.

Paige came by an hour later, bringing in her laptop and a briefcase.

"Hey Emily." She said as she gave Emily a kiss.

"The therapist just made molds of my stumps, they say I will get my temporary prosthetics in a week."

A smile formed on Paige's face and she said, "That's great."

Emily asked, "How is work going?"

"It's a bit slow. I have to read these depositions transcripts and help one of the partners prepare some documents tomorrow. When does your afternoon therapy session start?" Paige asked.

"In about 30 minutes."

"Emily, you know my apartment has two bedrooms and I was using one as a study. Anyway, I was thinking of turning that room into your room. I mean I want us to take things slowly because of everything else that is going on. Would you be ok having your own room in the apartment?" Paige asked.

Emily was a bit upset at Paige's suggestion. She longed to spend her nights again in bed with Paige. But she pretended to be ok with the suggestion and just said, "That will be fine Paige."

….

Emily's therapy session consisted of learning to do small tasks with just one arm. She struggled in one exercise that involved putting a shirt on. She often looked to the side where Paige was sitting and sometimes Paige looked up and gave her an encouraging smile.

After the therapy session, Emily said, "I realized how much I took having two arms for granted."

Paige nodded and said, "Well as soon as you get your arm prosthetic, you'll be good as the rest of us with two arms."

"I won't. Earlier I said I was excited to get prosthetics. I'm excited for more the leg prosthetic because I want to stand again and walk again. Arm prosthetics are more complicated. I will have to use a hook prosthetic sometimes and the myloelectric prosthetics are still creepy." Emily said.

"They won't be creepy. Your life is different and you need them to function. I'm sure it will take awhile to get used to." Paige said trying to be encouraging.

"Adults might not get creeped out by them. But kids might. Aria's daughter might see me as a freak when she gets older." Emily said.

Paige said, "Emily, Aria's daughter is going to love you because her mother is one of your closest friends."

"I guess she will." Emily said.

"Let's not focus on the distant future, let's just focus on getting through the next couple of months and helping you get your life back on track." Paige said.

Emily didn't respond to Paige.

* * *

A week passed by. Today was the big day in which Emily would get her temporary prosthetics. Paige came into her room and saw Spencer at Emily's bedside.

She greeted them. They helped Emily into a wheelchair and then wheeled her down to the therapy room.

Devon and Tara were there. Devon carried two big boxes and smaller box that was on top.

"Ok Emily, we also got you some new sneakers to use." Devon said as he opened the smaller box.

Tara took one of the boxes and said, "Your leg prosthetic is in this box. It's made of carbon, resin, and some other materials.

Tara showed Emily the prosthetic. The top part was black and set up like a socket to latch onto Emily's amputated leg. The lower part look like a metal rod with a fake foot attached to the bottom. Devon put a shoe on the foot part.

Emily was wearing shorts. Devon got closed to her and pulled a stocking type material out of the box.

"This is like a sock liner for stump. It will help the prosthetic suction onto your stump. I'm going to put on you and smooth out the wrinkles." He said.

After doing that, he slowly put the prosthetic on. Devon then put a shoe and sock on Emily's remaining foot.

The therapist then asked, "Are you ready to stand?"

Emily said, "I am."

"I'm going to help you up slowly. Your balance might feel off. But I will be holding you." Devon said.

Slowly he stood her up. Emily felt weird and she felt pressure on her amputated limb. But she was glad to be standing. She looked over at Paige who was smiling from ear to ear.

Tara then came over holding up the arm hook prosthetic. The prosthetic had a shoulder harness attached.

Tara said, "I'm going to put this on you. It will help you start with rehabbing your arm. Later, you will get one of the more advanced arm prosthetics."

Emily was a bit freaked about the arm prosthetic. Paige noticed her uneasiness and she remembered the conversation about arm prosthetics from the week before.

Tara secured the prosthetic on Emily and began showing her how to open the hook with her arm and shoulder. Devon then brought a walker. With her remaining hand and hook prosthetic, Emily held onto the walker and standing for awhile. She asked Paige to come to her.

Paige went over. With her hook latched on the walker, she hugged Paige with her arm and said, "I've been wanting to hold you like this for awhile."

Paige smiled and said, "Me too. Why don't you put your other arm around me."

Emily got nervous and said, "No, I don't want this freaky hook to touch you at all."

"It's not freaky, Emily you need it." Paige responded.

"Look, it is freaky and I'm scared it will hurt you Paige."

Paige then put her hand on the hook prosthetic and said, "See, I'm not scared of it."

Emily stayed looking at Paige's hand on top of the hook prosthetic. Moments later, tears streamed down her face and she looked and said, "Thank you, Paige for loving me like this."

Paige then kissed Emily on the lips.


	5. Chapter 5

Heal Chapter 5

Over the next few days, Emily went through therapy sessions to learn to walk on her prosthetic leg. She had to use a walker at times. It was frustrating when she would fall onto the ground. Sometimes Paige was at her sessions to comfort her, other times she was not there because of work and other obligations. Today, Emily was going to a group counseling therapy session with other patients. Since she was having trouble walking with a prosthetic, the therapists arranged for her to use an electric wheelchair around the hospital when she was tired or didn't feel like walking. Emily went to the group therapy room on her own.

She looked at her fellow veterans who had various disabilities. There were a few amputees, then a few paraplegics, a blind veteran, and a quadriplegic veteran who was hooked up to a ventilator.

One of the mental health therapists at the hospital was acting as moderator for the group session. The therapist was a man named Dr. Kevin Simmons.

He stood in the center of the group and said, "Hello, everyone. We have a new person in our group. I want to introduce you to Sgt. Emily Fields" He then pointed to Emily.

She said, "Hello everyone."

Dr. Simmons said, "Emily, please tell us about yourself."

"I joined the Army a few years ago. I was injured in Iraq, four weeks ago. I stepped on a land mine and as you can I lost an arm and leg. I'm learning how to use prosthetics. I have a good support network of friends and my girlfriend Paige". Emily said.

A man with who lost both arms said, "You are lucky to still have a significant other. My wife just left me."

Dr. Simmons said, "Jacob, we are still sorry for that. But we need to all be positive for each other."

Emily knew deep down that she was indeed lucky to have Paige back. But at times she worried about Paige possibly leaving her.

Emily then said to the group, "I know I'm lucky, but I worry about the future with her."

A paraplegic female veteran then spoke up, "I know what you are saying, my husband is very supportive, but I sometimes I wonder if it will become too much for him."

Dr. Simmons then started to talk to the group about how to deal with significant others' feelings. Members shared their feelings. Emily stayed quiet for the rest of the session. After the session ended, the female paraplegic who responded to Emily, wheeled over to her.

The paraplegic was in her 30s and blonde hair. She was in a manual wheelchair and she said, "Hey Emily, I'm Stacy"

Emily held out her hand and said, "It's good to meet you."

"You too. You want to hang out in the cafeteria and get some coffee." Stacy asked.

"Sure."

Emily and Stacy headed to the cafeteria. They got their coffee and sat at a table.

Emily asked, "How did you get injured?"

"A sniper shot me in the back two years ago. I'm paralyzed from my waist down. I come here to group therapy sessions on a outpatient basis. You are still in patient right?" She said.

"Yeah I'm still inpatient. The doctors and therapists are saying I might be to go home in a month or so and then do my therapies on a outpatient basis." Emily said.

Emily then asked, "Stacy since it has been a couple of years since your injury, do things get better in time?"

Stacy said, "I have gotten used to my disability more. Yes, some things do get easier in time. But I won't lie Emily, things do get hard on my husband. We have two boys and sometimes I can't do certain household things because of my condition and sometimes I think my husband still wishes my body was what it used to be."

Emily responded, "I sometimes worry about my girlfriend being repelled later on because of my limbs being amputated. She has been great for the past month. She isn't freaked out by my prosthetics or my stumps. But I still worry that someday she will want someone who is whole."

Stacy said, "You are quite beautiful Emily."

Emily then joked, "Well I should be glad that the land mine didn't damage my face."

Stacy chuckled.

The two women talked for an hour about different things. Stacy had to eventually leave to pick her up sons from school. But she promised to visit Emily the next day.

Emily headed back to her room. She was able to get herself onto the bed. She slept for awhile before being awakened by the phone ringing. She picked it up from the night stand.

"Hi Emily. It's Paige."

"Hey Paige, when are you coming over?" Emily asked.

"Sweetie, I won't be going to the hospital tonight. Some stuff came up in one of the cases I'm working on. I'll be here at the office. I'm so sorry Em." Paige said.

"Don't worry about it." Emily said.

The two talked for a couple of minutes before hanging up. Although Emily pretended to be ok, she was a bit sad that Paige wasn't going to be with her tonight.

An hour later, Aria stood in the doorway.

Emily said, "Hey Aria."

"Hi, Emily, I have a surprise visitor for you." The short brunette said.

Ella Montgomery walked in. The woman started to tear up as she saw Emily.

"Ella, you came." Emily said.

A few years earlier Ella along with the other mothers of Emily's friends requested that she call them by their first names.

Ella got close to Emily's bedside. She wiped her tears and said, "It's so good to see you Emily. I'm sorry about what happened to you."

She then hugged Emily and Emily liked being hugged by a mother figure.

Aria and Ella then took seats by Emily's bedside.

Ella told Emily about how she was teaching middle school back in Rosewood and she had come to Philly to be with Aria since the baby's due date was approaching. The older woman then said, "Em, if you want to go back to Rosewood, you are welcome to stay with me."

Emily smiled at Ella's offer. She knew Ella was being kind like how Paige's parents had previously offered Emily a place to stay in Rosewood.

She then said, "Thank you for the offer Ella. But I will be staying here in Philly with Paige. But I do plan to go to Rosewood sometime in the next few months to visit my parents' grave."

Ella smiled, "I see. But promise me that when you go to Rosewood, you will come by and visit me. I miss all of you girls so much."

"I'll definitely visit you." Emily said.

Ella then said, "Emily, have you heard about the Paralympics?"

She then thought for a few minutes and she remembered hearing about them years ago in high school. The Paralympics were like the Olympics, but for people with physical disabilities.

"Yeah, I've heard about them."

The older woman then said, "They have swimming competitions. I remember you were a good swimmer."

Emily thought back to her high school days and winning a state championship. It had been a couple of years since she had swam in a pool. She had been busy with the Army.

Emily then said, "It's been awhile since I've been a pool. I would like to swim again just to keep myself in shape."

Ella and Aria later left for the night.

Emily pulled out her laptop from a drawer.

She set up on her bed and began researching the Paralympics on the Internet. She eventually found videos of amputees swimming. One amputee was a young girl who had no legs and was missing an arm too. Emily was amazed by watching that girl. She thought if someone a bit more disabled could compete in swimming, then she could too.

Eventually, she put away her laptop and got ready for bed on her own. A nurse did check on her at some point. As Emily drifted off to sleep, she planned to ask Devon about getting into the VA's hospital pool at some point.


	6. Chapter 6

Heal Chapter 6

The next morning Emily headed to physical therapy with Devon. The physical therapist helped her get her leg prosthetic leg on. She then walked between parallel bars, she was limping a bit, but she could feel herself becoming more comfortable. During a break, she decided to ask Devon about getting into the pool later on.

Emily said, "I know there is a pool here and I was wondering if you could maybe help me use later on. I want to try getting back into swimming. I was a swimmer in high school."

Devon responded, "Sure, about we wait another week and let you gain some strength back and we can start doing some pool therapy."

Emily smiled.

She later did some occupational therapy with prosthetic hook. She learned a new method of tying her shoes.

In the late afternoon, she was back in her room reading a book. When she heard a knock at the door. Emily said "Come in."

She then watched as a boy around the age of 8 came into the room and then Stacy wheeled into the room and a boy around the age of 4 was sitting on her lap. She figured they were Stacy's sons.

Emily greeted them.

"Boys this is Sgt. Emily Fields." Stacy said.

Both boys saluted Emily.

"Thank you boys." Emily said.

Stacy said, "This is my older son Jordan and this is my younger son Morgan."

"Nice to meet you boys."

Stacy said, "I hope you don't mind me bringing them here."

"It's fine."

The two boys then asked Emily about her injuries. She felt a bit an uneasy talking about her injuries to young children.

Morgan then asked, "Can I touch your hook hand?"

Emily said, "Sure."

The young boy walked over to Emily's bedside and placed his hand on her hook. She felt relief that at least one child wasn't freaked out by her.

Later Stacy and Emily talked while the boys played a game on an iPad. The two women talked about physical and occupational therapies. Emily eventually brought up the Paralympics.

Stacy said, "That would you good if you could compete in them."

"It would be good. There are other veterans competing in them." Emily said.

Later Stacy and the boys left.

* * *

It was close to 7 pm when Paige entered the hospital room carrying a takeout bag from a restaurant.

She kissed Emily and said, "I've missed you. I'm so sorry I couldn't come at all here yesterday."

Emily responded, "It's ok. Don't worry. Ella came with Aria last night to visit me."

Paige smiled and said, "That was nice of her."

"Yeah it was. Ella is like a mother figure to me. Anyway, she mentioned the Paralympics and swimming. I talked to Devon and he said in a week or so he will help me get into the pool. I think I want to try completive swimming for disabled people." Emily said.

Paige then remembered their high school days on the swim team and the rivalry they had.

Paige said, "That's a good goal to have. You are a strong woman and I think you can handle it. Just take things day by day for now."

Emily nodded.

Paige then discussed the case she was working on at the law firm. Emily got kind of bored hearing Paige talk about legal stuff, but she pretended to be completely interested as a way of supporting Paige's career goals.

Eventually Emily asked, "Paige, do you think we could be together in the long run with your career and my goals?"

Some fear crept into Paige when Emily asked that question. She knew that a legal career could be challenging and time consuming. Lawyers had warned her that sometimes personal lives can be impacted by careers.

Paige said, "Things won't be easy. But with some effort I think we will be ok.''

* * *

Over the next few days, Emily's walking improved and began walking more and staying out of a wheelchair. She still had to use a crutch, but therapists assured her that in time she wouldn't need the crutch. Paige felt pride in seeing Emily improve. Then came the day when Devon would help Emily into the pool. Paige had purchased a bathing suit for Emily. She helped Emily into it and they met Devon who was already in the pool. Emily removed her prosthetics and stockings and Paige set them off the side.

Emily sat on the side of the pool and then slowly slipped into the pool.

Devon got close to her and said, "You might feel weird in the pool with only two complete limbs."

Emily did feel weird and she found herself using her remaining arm to feel a bit balanced. Slowly she started treading through the water. She again remembered her past as a swimmer.

After awhile she tried to do a backstroke, but had difficulty because she no experience with one arm.

Paige said, "Emily take it easy for awhile. I'm sure in time, you will get used to swimming with only one arm and one leg.

* * *

Emily nodded. Later on, Devon helped her out of the pool and Paige helped her change. Paige and Emily went back to her room. They decided to watch TV. Then Paige's phone buzzed. It was a text from Hanna that read, "Aria went into labor, tell Emily."

Paige smiled and showed the text to Emily. Emily then changed her clothes. She put on a t-shirt and jeans. She got her crutch. Paige then drove Emily to the hospital where Aria was.

Emily along with Hanna and Spencer went into the delivery room a few times to see Aria between contractions. Several hours later, Ella came out to the waiting room and said, "The baby girl is here."

Later on, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer went into see Aria and her daughter. Aria held the baby girl in a pink blanket and hat.

She looked at her friends and said, "This is Brittany Emily Fitz".

A tear streamed down Emily's face, she had previously known about Ezra and Aria planning to have the baby's middle name as Emily. But now seeing the baby made her realize what an honor it was.

Aria eventually asked about who wanted to hold the baby and Spencer volunteered first. Then Hanna.

Emily was sitting off to the side.

Aria asked, "Emily don't you want to hold the baby?"

Emily said, "No it's ok."

Aria figured that Emily was unsure of holding the baby due to her prosthetic hook.

The short brunette then said, "Hanna why don't you put the baby on Emily's lap.?"

The new mother winked at Emily.

Hanna walked over and then placed the baby on Emily's lap. With her remaining hand, Emily felt the baby's soft brown hair. She also touched the baby's skin. The baby started crying several minutes later and Hanna took the baby to Aria so she could nurse.

Emily and Paige later headed back to the veterans' hospital.

Emily got back into bed and said, "Today was a good day. Aria had the baby and they are both fine and I got back into the water."

Paige smiled, "Things are looking up."

Several hours later at 6 am, Emily began having a nightmare about the war. She awoke in a sweaty state. She was shaking and crying. She said to herself, "I won't tell anyone about this."


End file.
